2020/21 General Match Thread

[joethegill]

Ipswich were nowhere near as impressive as some of the eventual promotees over the last few years - indeed just thinking back to last season I saw better performances from Sunderland, Barnsley, Peterborough and Luton.

1-0 was, in my opinion, not a fair reflection of the game, and we definitely deserved a point from it. Town scored their goal on the break, as £1 million signing Kayden Jackson delivered a great cross to 500k signing Vincent-Young. That's the difference. Vincent-Young was superb all day, but Jackson offered very little else considering his value. Our forwards huffed and puffed, but only Jakubiak had a clear cut chance in the second half when he dallied too long to allow Chambers to make a decent recovery tackle.

We had the bulk of our good chances in the first half, and absolutely should've been level when Ehmer missed from a couple of yards out - in fairness the ball came at him quickly but I can't make too many excuses for him. Poor miss. Other than that, O'Connor had a worldie effort which just dipped over (may've clipped the bar but from my angle I'm not sure), and Olly Lee had two very presentable chances from the edge of the box, but snatched at both. For Ipswich, there was an early header from a corner which wasn't too far away but not a huge worry, almost a mix-up between Bonham and Ogilvie which could've been dangerous and a Judge effort in the second half on the counter which came back off the post.

On the balance of play I'd say Ipswich were better on the ball, surprisingly direct (despite what Lambert said to the press) but had one moment of quality. We were also direct until Pringle came on, at which point he was everywhere and probably the best player on the pitch in the last 20 or so. We, however, were inches away with our moment of quality and couldn't convert from the 4 or 5 other chances we had. That's why we'll be a mid-table side at best with this squad, and Ipswich will be fine for the top 6.

On a slight aside - it was great to see Tomas Holy back at the club, and to see the obvious affection he still has for our fans and vice versa. Ipswich fans seem to have taken to him too (although after 5 clean sheets in a row I'm not overly surprised) and I'm very pleased for the lad. He's got a great attitude but needs to have the fans on his side to have confidence. I thought Ipswich would be a good move for him as he knows this league already, and long may it continue for him.

 

[Tranmerewhite]

He divides opinion, with some supporters calling him lazy, but I personally think he has done well.

He is poor in the air and is not a great athlete considering his size, but he is decent when the ball is played to his feet. He has scored a couple of crucial goals for us already and seems to get on well with Mellon.

He won 7 headers on Saturday.

Both Saturday and Tuesday against Peterborough he ran tirelessly. He’s no Norwood but as his fitness and confidence is improving he’s playing better. 3 goals so far in a struggling side is a fair return.

 

[Tom_ITFC]

Ipswich were nowhere near as impressive as some of the eventual promotees over the last few years - indeed just thinking back to last season I saw better performances from Sunderland, Barnsley, Peterborough and Luton.

1-0 was, in my opinion, not a fair reflection of the game, and we definitely deserved a point from it. Town scored their goal on the break, as £1 million signing Kayden Jackson delivered a great cross to 500k signing Vincent-Young. That's the difference. Vincent-Young was superb all day, but Jackson offered very little else considering his value. Our forwards huffed and puffed, but only Jakubiak had a clear cut chance in the second half when he dallied too long to allow Chambers to make a decent recovery tackle.

We had the bulk of our good chances in the first half, and absolutely should've been level when Ehmer missed from a couple of yards out - in fairness the ball came at him quickly but I can't make too many excuses for him. Poor miss. Other than that, O'Connor had a worldie effort which just dipped over (may've clipped the bar but from my angle I'm not sure), and Olly Lee had two very presentable chances from the edge of the box, but snatched at both. For Ipswich, there was an early header from a corner which wasn't too far away but not a huge worry, almost a mix-up between Bonham and Ogilvie which could've been dangerous and a Judge effort in the second half on the counter which came back off the post.

On the balance of play I'd say Ipswich were better on the ball, surprisingly direct (despite what Lambert said to the press) but had one moment of quality. We were also direct until Pringle came on, at which point he was everywhere and probably the best player on the pitch in the last 20 or so. We, however, were inches away with our moment of quality and couldn't convert from the 4 or 5 other chances we had. That's why we'll be a mid-table side at best with this squad, and Ipswich will be fine for the top 6.

On a slight aside - it was great to see Tomas Holy back at the club, and to see the obvious affection he still has for our fans and vice versa. Ipswich fans seem to have taken to him too (although after 5 clean sheets in a row I'm not overly surprised) and I'm very pleased for the lad. He's got a great attitude but needs to have the fans on his side to have confidence. I thought Ipswich would be a good move for him as he knows this league already, and long may it continue for him.

Without a doubt we were lucky to win, poor performances across the board (bar Vincent-Young as you say). The last few games we’ve not been great but the difference this season (possible standard of the league?) we’ve been able to win playing badly!

We’ve got a very strong squad which should be winning this league and so far so good.

The chance for you if I’m thinking correctly, it came from a goal kick where the ball was clearly rolling! Shocking refereeing again although it was quite funny seeing him do an impression of Gemma Collins on ice

One more thing, you lot were probably one of the better home fans getting behind their team that I’ve seen in a long while so hats off to you lot!

 

[joethegill]

Without a doubt we were lucky to win, poor performances across the board (bar Vincent-Young as you say). The last few games we’ve not been great but the difference this season (possible standard of the league?) we’ve been able to win playing badly!

I've said for ages that the biggest gap between leagues in this country at the moment is between League One and the Championship. I don't think fans of relegated clubs quite appreciate how much easier they'll find it a step below. Unless there's some serious underlying problem with the club, this tends to be where most stabilise and thrive again. Ipswich will bounce back up, if not this year then next, and rightly so - I included the fees paid for Jackson and KVY a little in jest and a little in jealousy, but the fact that those fees are available means you can blow the majority of clubs in this league out of the water.

So while you SHOULD be up the top and competing, there's no denying that it's nice for your fans to be enjoying success - although I'd argue that apart from last season, Ipswich have been reasonably solid for a decade or so a level higher anyway, not like clubs such as Bolton or Sunderland, who were shite for years before they ended up here.

 

[RLC]

He won 7 headers on Saturday.

Both Saturday and Tuesday against Peterborough he ran tirelessly. He’s no Norwood but as his fitness and confidence is improving he’s playing better. 3 goals so far in a struggling side is a fair return.

He works hard but he is not a natural athlete. I don't think he is great in the air either, certainly not from clearances from the keeper. But he is clever when the ball is played in to his feet.

I have said all along he is likely to end up as our top scorer this season. He spends more time in the eighteen yard box than Mullin and seems more of a natural goalscorer, which his career statistics back up.

 

[Luke Imp]

Yeah it’s become a bit of an annoying tradition.

What are people’s thoughts on the league this season? Can’t say I’m overly impressed with ten standard tbh

I obviously can't compare like for like but I personally think the jump overall is bigger from L2 to L1 than NL to L2 and the latter is a big jump. That said, we went from NL into L2 as an historically solid, decent sized L2 Club anyway so it took us less time to adapt and perhaps we're not quite the right supporters to ask in that respect.

This league certainly has more 'football' sides and is a far more technical league than L2. It's less strength and power, more technical and speed. We've already faced a couple of sides, though, who seemed to want to conform to playing it on the deck for the sake of it and because it's the 'in' thing rather than being overly threatening with it.

I've said for years that this is the league where you start seeing the proper footballing sides and silly wages being paid because you invariably end up with a handful of big clubs down here and that makes the financial gap between top and bottom bigger than the top and bottom of L2.

 

[RLC]

I obviously can't compare like for like but I personally think the jump overall is bigger from L2 to L1 than NL to L2 and the latter is a big jump.

Yes, exactly how I see it.

 

[PuB]

The jump from here to the championship is even more huge. Look at the number of clubs who have come down and gone straight back up at the first attempt recently.

 

[joethegill]

Last season the league had 5 excellent sides, 4 or 5 decent ones and then the rest who ALL would've been in the relegation scrap for at least some portion of the season. I don't think we have those 5 excellent sides this season - from what I've seen Ipswich have been the best we've faced but they weren't of the level of any of Luton, Barnsley, Sunderland, Charlton or Pompey from last year. Good news for Ipswich though is that they SHOULD capitalise on that and bounce straight back up. It's probably the year for Sunderland to do the same and I imagine they will do, and I also fancy Posh to make the leap again.

Additionally, with the demise of Bury and the non-event of Bolton, having only 2 more relegation spots this season does mean a lot of clubs will feel a lot happier about playing more expansively. For example I think we're a better side this year, playing better stuff, but we're no better off league wise. I imagine that's the case for a few others - Rochdale appear to be playing some lovely stuff but aren't getting the results. Interesting that the sides coming up appear to be of a similar viewpoint in that the gap between divisions is reasonably wide, as I think up until maybe a couple of years ago that certainly wasn't the case.

 

[SF_]

Will be interesting to see if Ipswich win the league and rely on the players and manager who failed miserably in the Championship last time round. I think that's an issue Bolton had when they were promoted and came straight back down under Parkinson a couple of years ago.

 

[joethegill]

Oxford away tomorrow. Despite their aggregate of 10-0 over the past week, I'm reasonably confident of a result. No doubt they're a good side with good players, but they're not up the top of the league so they're certainly beatable. Not sure what shape we'll play, as we've gone with both a flat 4-4-2 and a diamond, 4-3-3, 4-3-1-2 and a 3-5-2 so far this season, and have mixed it up a fair bit during games too.

I think our position is a touch false considering our performances so far as they've mostly been pretty good. The only game we certainly deserved to lose was Burton at home where we were pretty meek, while our other defeats left us feeling we could've had something from the game with a tad more composure in front of goal. Marshall and Jones come back into the reckoning for this one which is positive, as only Matt Willock is out now. Could see a line up similar to this:

Bonham
Fuller - Ehmer - Ogilvie - O'Connor
Jones
Byrne - Pringle
Lee
Jakubiak - Mandron
​

Walsh, Tucker, Hodson, Marshall, O'Keefe, Hanlan and Ndjoli on a strong looking bench. Charles-Cook and Cisse missing out.

Would take a point, so 1-1.

 

[Tom_ITFC]

Will be interesting to see if Ipswich win the league and rely on the players and manager who failed miserably in the Championship last time round. I think that's an issue Bolton had when they were promoted and came straight back down under Parkinson a couple of years ago.

We’ve made some better signings this year and I do believe we have a much stronger side than before. We’ve got a much better right back which was a huge issue last yeah, a CM squad not filled with injuries, more options up top and a keeper who’s showing much better all round compared to Bart’s very poor season last season. Holy can actually read a game and is much more confident at commanding his area!

Early doors but another clean sheet tomorrow and it’s a club record, lower league I know, but 6 in a row would be quite something!

 

[Shrimpurh]

Accy at home tomorrow fresh off a clean sheet and an away win last week. Think we could get another win tomorrow, the players are responding to Waddock

 

[Bucket_]

Could be crunchtime for Kenny tomorrow. Anything other than a win after our start and the Tuesday evening incident could spell the end - at the very least he will have a near impossible job to win the fans back.

Says a lot that our 4th choice striker being ruled out for 4-6 weeks, after being fashioned into a makeshift (and instantly first choice) centre back, is viewed as a mini crisis. He just doesn’t know his best team and has seemingly already decided he doesn’t rate half of the new signings he brought in this summer.

 

[DippyDon]

Last time we went to Sunderland we were 2-0 up with 12 minutes to go and we lost 4-2. Honestly I'd just take scoring twice at this stage and be happy about it. Not really expecting anything from the game other than a loss.

If anyone wants to basically print money then lump whatever you can on Will Grigg scoring too.

 

[Shrimpurh]

Could be crunchtime for Kenny tomorrow. Anything other than a win after our start and the Tuesday evening incident could spell the end - at the very least he will have a near impossible job to win the fans back.

Says a lot that our 4th choice striker being ruled out for 4-6 weeks, after being fashioned into a makeshift (and instantly first choice) centre back, is viewed as a mini crisis. He just doesn’t know his best team and has seemingly already decided he doesn’t rate half of the new signings he brought in this summer.

Christ he must regret calling our game off when Mr Bond was in charge. Not at all saying we’ll get a result when we play on the rearranged date but you would of had 3 points of us guaranteed and probably 4 goals too

 

[Bucket_]

Christ he must regret calling our game off when Mr Bond was in charge. Not at all saying we’ll get a result when we play on the rearranged date but you would of had 3 points of us guaranteed and probably 4 goals too

Not to revel in your misery there, but that is genuinely on most Pompey fans’ general list of “Things Kenny Fucked Up”

 

[PuB]

At the spritely age of 48 Simon Royce is on the bench for us today

 

[Oxon]

Oxford away tomorrow. Despite their aggregate of 10-0 over the past week, I'm reasonably confident of a result. No doubt they're a good side with good players, but they're not up the top of the league so they're certainly beatable. Not sure what shape we'll play, as we've gone with both a flat 4-4-2 and a diamond, 4-3-3, 4-3-1-2 and a 3-5-2 so far this season, and have mixed it up a fair bit during games too.

At the game, and honestly, you're lucky you're not 5 or 6 down already.

 

[PUSBCCFC]

Donny were fantastic today, but it would take an absolute world beating team to beat us at St Andrews.

 

[Super_horns]

Another late goal for you guys?

 

[SuffolkBlue]

A decent 4-1 win. Worst we've played this season but the standard of some of the teams in this league is abysmal.

 

[Tom_ITFC]

A decent 4-1 win. Worst we've played this season but the standard of some of the teams in this league is abysmal.

First half yes but second was complete dominance. Could have been more than 4.

 

[PUSBCCFC]

Another late goal for you guys?

Yup. Unbeaten.

 

[Marked Ox]

Absolutely hammered Gillingham. Could and should have scored more in the 1st half albeit teh 2nd half was quieter.

James Henry was centimetres from a hat-trick in the 1st half after hitting the post and his 1st goal was just sublime with the keeper standing no chance with the placement (I was in line with it). Matty Taylor is really firing now and took his chance with aplomb for his 3rd goal for us this season.

It showed how dominant we were that their only threat was a chance caused by a Simon Eastwood error from which they hit the post and no.7 (Hanlan I think) throwing himself down in the box a few times. It really looked like Gillingham were focused on keeping the score down to 3-0 in the 2nd half but I could be wrong of course.

Nice of Steve Evans to do our team talk for us as confirmed by Karl Robinson, and a few players, in interviews after the game with his "lucky" goals comments which our players had picked up on and told Karl Robinson. Clearly we scored another 3 "lucky" goals.

 

[codaplenty]

A very good win today and this kind of result has been coming for a few weeks. Not as clear cut as the margin suggests, certainly in the 1st half but a dominant performance in the second. Probably the most pleasing aspect for many will be the first clean sheet on the road this season, Tractor Boys next up at home and that will be a real test

 

[dedwardp]

Kane Vincent-Young is genuinely the real deal - he'll play in the top flight, no question. Can't believe we held on to him for as long as we did, Paul Hurst was a right mug in turning him away last summer.

 

[GeneralLee]

We were efficient today, first half particularly I’m not sure Gillingham touched the ball barring goal kicks and a couple of wayward passes! It was one way traffic for much of the game - whilst we are starting to come together (quite out of the blue!), Gillingham were very poor admittedly. Beyond a run by Mark Marshall centrally in the last few minutes... they just looked bereft of quality. The game rarely threatened against an OUFC victory barring a bizarre piece of goalkeeping by Simon Eastwood who should have absolutely walloped the ball into row Z, instead opting to try and shield the ball out of play unsuccessfully.

 

[PuB]

Oxford looking like a good bet this season. And yeah we aren’t very good

 

[Kim Mitten]

I made the right decision and went to Charlton-Leeds. Had some texts from people at the Southend game saying it was the worst we'd played all season today and that is some going!

Henrik Larsson was at the game again, if he takes the job now I think he's got a screw loose. Hopefully he is given time in League 2 though cos even a Klopp/Guardiola super combo won't be saving us this season.